Filter items with children / without children

Is i possible to set up a filter to show items with or items without
children?

One of my Shadow uses is to keep track of books I have read, organised
as children of their authors.  I also add authors I would like to
sample - with no children, of course

At the library or bookshop, I would like to hunt for books by authors
I have not yet tried: is it possible to filter for top-level (or
level-specific) items with no children?